Jewel continued her interrogation. “Did you go to the boat show in Wilmington, Kevin? Jake got a ride with someone.”
Cyndi looked at her husband, perplexed. “Didn’t you give someone a ride to the Wilmington show?”
“I intended to. The guy didn’t show up.” He held out his wineglass toward Val and Jewel. “Would either of you like a glass of white wine? I haven’t drunk from it. If you prefer something else, I’ll go get it for you.”
Val glanced at the glass in his right hand. He held the stem with his thumb and two fingers just below the bowl. His ring finger and pinky were bent behind the stem. “I’ll take the wine.” She reached for the lower part of the stem.
In the instant he released the glass, she glimpsed a dome-shaped wart, half an inch in diameter, on the inside of his ring finger near the middle joint. He quickly hid the spot with his thumb, which he tucked under his index and middle fingers. Obviously he was self-conscious about the wart. Yesterday he’d covered his hand with his jacket when Bethany came into the sitting room. His rush to leave wasn’t just fear of the dog, but fear of Bethany.
Val looked up at Kevin. His eyes were trained on her. He’d seen her staring at his hand.
“I’d like a diet cola if you have it, Kevin,” Jewel said. “If I don’t watch my figure, no one else will.”
“Stay right here, I’ll bring it to you.”
As Kevin headed toward the dining room, Val noticed he was mildly duckfooted, his toes pointing outward instead of straight. His unusual gait wouldn’t impinge on most people, but Jewel was attuned to how people walked. She was watching him now as he paused to talk to someone in the dining room and then went into the kitchen.
Kevin fit the mold of the killer, not just with his chemistry background, but also his kitchen expertise. Unlike his wife, he cared about food and did the cooking. He wouldn’t have any trouble making gingerbread cookies or bonbons, and mixing in a little poison. He had a motive for Oliver’s murder—a large inheritance his wife would share with her sister. But what on earth was his motive for killing Jewel or Jake?
An older woman Val didn’t know came up to Cyndi and hugged her. “Sorry for your loss, my dear. We wish we could have come to your father’s birthday dinner last weekend.”
Jewel whispered to Val, “I think Kevin was the guy in the sweat suit hanging out near my house on Sunday morning.”
Val wasn’t surprised, though she couldn’t imagine why he’d be there. She pulled Jewel aside. “Take the soda Kevin gives you, but don’t drink it. Get out of the house quickly after that. You and I need to split up now and leave separately.” Val didn’t want anyone, least of all Kevin, suspecting an alliance between her and Jewel. “Okay?”
Jewel nodded and popped a cheese cube from her plate into her mouth.
Val set the wineglass Kevin had given her behind a trio of elves perched on the mantel. She grabbed her coat from the den. Avoiding Franetta, she slipped out of the house and joined Granddad across the street.
He motioned her into the deepest shadow. “Did Jewel recognize anyone?”
“Kevin.” Val summarized the conversation Jewel initiated and concluded, “I’m not sure why Kevin would kill either of the Smiths, but—”
“I know why. Kevin and Jake spent twelve hours together on that Wilmington trip. They would have talked about their problems. Jake wanted to get rid of his blackmailing wife. Kevin wanted his father-in-law’s money.” Granddad watched the house across the street as he talked. “They traded murders, like in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. That way they’d each have an alibi when the person they wanted dead was killed. Their scheme didn’t turn out like the one in the movie. Jake was sick, tired, and drunk. He ate the cookie meant for Jewel.”
Val stared at Granddad in the dim light. An improbable solution, but the only one that explained everything that had happened since the Dickens festival. “You nailed it, Granddad.”
“Oh, no!” He pointed at the Naiman house. “Kevin just jumped into his car. I didn’t see him leave the Frosts’ house.”
“He must have left by the door from the kitchen and crossed the backyards.” Val watched him reverse out of the driveway. “What if he’s decided he has to get rid of Bethany? Call Chief Yardley and tell him she needs protection.” Remembering Kevin was afraid of dogs, Val grabbed the leash from Granddad. “I’ll warn Bethany and follow Kevin’s car.”
“Text me where Kevin is or call the police, but don’t go near him. I’ll call Earl, tell him Kevin’s behind the poisonings, and give him the car’s description. I took down his license number.”
Val sprinted to her car, tugging Muffin. They both jumped into the car as Kevin’s brake lights went on at the end of Belleview Avenue. He turned off it. Val sped after him. She made the same turn he had and was relieved to see his taillights ahead.
She speed-dialed Bethany and switched the phone to Speaker. “The murderer is the man you saw at our house yesterday—Oliver’s son-in-law, Kevin. He’s on the loose, so don’t open the door to anyone.”
“Oh, Lord! Should I leave?”
“No. You’re better off there. Kevin’s afraid of dogs. Did my grandfather ever show you his barking motion detector?”
“RoboFido. You want me to turn it on to scare Kevin away?”
“Yes. Fido’s in the hall closet.” Where could Bethany put the device so the barking would be heard no matter which door or window Kevin went to? “Plug it in facing the side vestibule but not visible from the window. You stand in the vestibule where you can’t be seen. Then stamp your feet or wave your arms so Fido detects motion and keeps barking.”
“I’ll call Ryan.”
“Yes, call your personal police escort, but set up Fido first. See you soon.”
Bethany hung up. Val kept her distance from Kevin’s car so he wouldn’t notice her following him. He went past the street he should have taken to go to Granddad’s house. Maybe he didn’t realize it was the shortest way there, but it wasn’t the only way. He would reach Main Street in another couple of blocks.
He slowed down almost to a stop and turned right onto Ad Hoc Lane, a road so small that it didn’t appear on the town maps tourists got. The lane wasn’t a dead end. Kevin could still drive from here to Granddad’s house by a zigzag route. Or he could take a straight route on foot, cutting through people’s yards.
Maybe he’d noticed Val’s headlights and turned onto this obscure road to check if the car behind was following his. She cut off her headlights and turned onto the lane. Cars were parked along it, but only Kevin’s vehicle moved. His brake lights went on, and he pulled over.
Val parked and called Granddad. She told him where Kevin was and said to send the police.
The streetlight illuminated Kevin as he got out of his car and bent down to look at his left rear tire. Was it going flat? He walked behind the car and opened the trunk. To get a spare tire or a weapon he could take to the place where he’d last seen Bethany—at Val and Granddad’s home. But Bethany wouldn’t let him in the house. RoboFido’s barking should deter the dog-phobic Kevin from smashing a window to get in.
Val’s blood ran cold as another kind of weapon occurred to her, one that wouldn’t require him to go near any dog in the house. The chemistry teacher would know how to make a small incendiary device. He could toss it through a window and blow up the house with Bethany in it. The police should get here soon, but it might be too late if Kevin had a bomb.
Val had to delay him. The dog in her passenger seat put a paw on Val’s leg. “C’mon, Muffin. We’re going to keep Kevin away from Bethany. You’re my shield.” She clipped the leash onto Muffin.
Once out of the car, she closed the door softly and led Muffin toward Kevin, who was now rummaging in his trunk.
Val stopped in the road ten feet away from him. “Hello, Kevin.” Muffin strained at the leash, ready to sniff him.
Kevin’s face contorted in fear. He froze. “Keep that dog away.”
“I will, as long as
you stay where you are. Make a move, and I’ll give the dog the attack command.”
“Why? Are you crazy? I have a flat. I want to change my tire.”
“The police can help you with that. They’re on their way.” And they’d better hurry up. “They know about the scheme you cooked up with Jake.”
“What scheme? What are you talking about?” He gestured wildly.
Muffin growled. Kevin stumbled back, almost falling over the curb.
“Stay still. The dog doesn’t like sudden moves.” Val made a show of pulling up on Muffin’s leash. Confident that Muffin would hold him at bay, she moved closer to his car. “Your best bet, when the police show up, is to confess. So far you’ve gotten away with two murders, but you can’t get away with another.”
“Nothing you’re saying makes any sense to me.” He took his eyes from the dog for a moment and glanced at the trunk.
Uh-oh. He wanted something in that trunk.
She stepped forward until she could see into it. The cover was off the tire well. The spare tire was there. So was a handgun.
Chapter 24
Val’s heart thumped so hard that she could hear it. Muffin was the only thing keeping Kevin away from the gun. If he realized the dog was harmless, he wouldn’t hesitate to lunge for the weapon. Val had to beat him to it. She needed her right hand free to hold the gun, but to pick it up with her right hand, she’d have to twist around, losing a precious second and signaling to Kevin what she was doing.
She visualized a way to reach for the gun and then put her plan into action. She transferred the leash to her left hand, wrapped the loop at the end around her wrist, and gathered the rest in two large loops.
Keeping her eyes on Kevin, she sidled up to the fender with Muffin at her knee. Her hand had better be faster than Kevin’s eye. She dropped the leash and stepped on it. Then she grabbed the gun with her left hand, switched it to her right, and pointed it at him.
She’d done it! But if he charged toward her now, she wouldn’t know how to shoot the gun. Did it have a safety on it? Could he see that her hand was shaking?
“Are you nuts?” Kevin yelled. “Put that down!”
Muffin barked, objecting to his tone of voice. He eyed the dog without stepping back. Maybe he’d figured out that her aggression extended no further than barking.
Val heard the hum of a car driving on the street from the same direction she’d come. It was getting close to them, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off Kevin.
“Help! She’s holding a gun on me,” he bellowed.
The engine quieted to a purr and the car door slammed. She sensed someone behind her.
“Give me that gun!” Granddad’s hand touched hers. “I know how to use it and you don’t.”
Val yielded the gun and bent down to pick up the leash from under her foot. As Muffin greeted Granddad, Kevin ran off.
Val chased after him, not to catch him, but to see which way he ran so she could tell the police. Muffin, still tethered to her, came along.
“Stop! Come back, Val,” Granddad called.
Kevin veered in front of his sedan and into the street, where Granddad’s Buick was sitting, its engine still running. Kevin dashed around to the driver’s side.
As he reached for the door handle, a black shape loomed next to him, tackled him, and held him down on the pavement. Muffin tugged on the leash, barking.
Granddad appeared, holding the gun. “Okay, nobody move or I’ll shoot.”
“Don’t shoot me!” Bram said, still holding Kevin down.
Relief flooded through Val. Granddad had a gun, Bram had brawn, and Muffin had her bark. Kevin wasn’t getting away after all.
A patrol car screeched to a stop in front of the Buick. Officer Ryan Wade leaped from the car. “Police! Don’t move.”
“Help!” Kevin whined. “I’m being assaulted.”
The chief came out of the patrol car more slowly than Ryan. “What’s going on here?”
Val pointed to the gun in Granddad’s hand. “The man who just asked for help had this gun in his trunk. He was about to steal Granddad’s car and Bram stopped him.”
“You can get off him, Bram.” The chief pointed at Kevin. “You on the ground, stay where you are! Wade, make sure he doesn’t move.”
Muffin pressed against Val’s leg and whimpered. All the barking men were too much for her.
Granddad gave the gun to the chief, who held it gingerly with his hand wrapped in a handkerchief. “Now let’s see what else is in that trunk of his.”
Val, Bram, and Granddad clustered around the trunk as the chief trained a high-intensity flashlight on the tire well. The beam illuminated black gloves with white skeleton fingers and a container of caffeine powder.
“Looks like evidence,” Val said. Evidence connecting Kevin to both poisonings.
Granddad said, “I’ll go tell Bethany the good news. And I’d better get my car out of the middle of the street. Police will be crawling all over here.”
As if on cue, another patrol car arrived. Kevin left in handcuffs, riding in the back of a patrol car.
Bram took Val by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. How did you get here at exactly the right moment?”
“I would have been here sooner, but Ad Hoc Lane isn’t easy to find. Your grandfather called and said you might be in trouble. I rushed over.” He pulled her closer. “I’ll always be here for you.”
“I can live with that.” She nestled into him, and Muffin pressed against her leg. Val bent down and hugged the trembling dog. “Calm down, Muffin. It’s all over and you did great. We’ll go home to Bethany now.”
* * *
Chief Yardley stopped by the house a few minutes later and joined Val, Granddad, Bethany, and Bram in the sitting room. The chief asked Val for a detailed account of what had happened at the Frosts’ house and after she’d followed Kevin.
When she finished talking, Bethany said, “Ad Hoc Lane isn’t on the way here. Was Kevin really driving here to shoot me?”
“I don’t know,” Val said, “but he might have shot me if Muffin hadn’t kept him away. He was terrified of her. She protected me tonight. She was a heroine.”
Bethany smiled at the heroine, who was snoring in front of the heating vent.
The chief said, “The route suggests he was heading out of town. I expect that’s what he’ll tell us, and it could be true. He had nothing to gain by killing Bethany now.”
Granddad nodded. “Yup. Val and Jewel had already busted him.”
Val hunched down, feeling deflated. Her spotting Kevin’s wart and Jewel seeing him with Jake didn’t constitute evidence. “Can you hold him on suspicion of murder based on what was in his trunk?”
“It’s enough to get a search warrant.” The chief must have noticed her disappointment. He continued, “The search will turn up evidence. The poisons he used probably left a trace. DNA can tie him to the gift bags or chocolates. And we can subpoena the toll plaza records from the Bay Bridge. We’ll know when he crossed it.”
“There goes Kevin’s alibi,” Val said with satisfaction. “He claimed he was going home to grade papers on Saturday afternoon. I think he went home to make gingerdead men and chocolates. Then he returned to Bayport in the evening to play the ghost, drove home, and came back Sunday morning. All those bridge crossings left a trail.”
Bethany frowned. “Kevin killed Oliver for the inheritance, but why did he kill Jake?”
Granddad sat forward in his lounge chair. “I can answer that.”
As he explained the murder swap, the chief kept a poker face. Bram on the sofa and Bethany in the chair by the fireplace looked dubious.
Val spoke up in defense of the theory. “Granddad has the only explanation that fits what happened. All the things that puzzled us make sense now, like why a man lurked outside Jake’s house on Sunday morning. Kevin planned to pass the poisoned chocolates to Jake at the marina that morning. Then Jake was supposed to leave them on Oliv
er’s doorstep at a time when Kevin had a solid alibi.”
Granddad nodded. “But Jake never came because he was dead. Kevin didn’t know that because the police hadn’t released the information yet. He must have wondered if his co-conspirator had balked at doing his part. So he went to Jake’s street. He wouldn’t want to knock on the door where the woman he’d poisoned the night before lived. So he hung around, hoping to get Jake’s attention. When the police came and Jewel opened the door, Kevin figured out the wrong person had eaten the poisoned gingerbread and he’d have to commit his own murder.”
“Events made him do it sooner than he would have liked,” Val said. “Sunday night Oliver announced he was going to marry Iska. For all Kevin knew, they might have already applied for a marriage license. So he had to poison Oliver right away.” Val remembered Cyndi’s sleepiness after Oliver’s birthday dinner. “I’m sure Kevin drugged his wife’s wine or coffee. After they left Oliver’s house to drive home, he waited until she fell asleep in the car and drove back to leave the chocolates for Oliver. He had Bethany’s chocolates too, but he couldn’t wait around until the party on her street broke up. If his wife woke up, how would he explain being in Bayport long after they’d left her father’s house? He delivered Bethany’s chocolates the next night, when his wife was in Chicago.”
Frowning, Bethany turned to Granddad. “Your murder-swap theory fits what happened, but how could two strangers with nothing in common decide to commit murders for each other?”
“They had boats in common. Jake was shopping for a getaway yacht in case his creditors or the law came after him.”
Val nodded. “Even before I met Kevin at Oliver’s birthday dinner, I heard that he loved being on the water. He probably planned to use his wife’s inheritance for a boat. After a chance meeting at one boat show, a planned meeting at a second one, and a long drive to a third show, they found out what else they had in common—someone they wanted dead.”
Gingerdead Man Page 21